Aeroplane
by Naeryda
Summary: Sakura did not like planes, let alone flying. Unfortunately she wanted to visit Europe which was only possible with the Aeroplane. She had not expected that her kind British neighbour to help her in calming down. Oneshot Pairing: England/Female Japan (Iggypan/Asakiku/Asasaku)


"K38," whispered the Japanese woman, as she looked for a seat in the British aeroplane. The flight from Tokyo to London would take more than 10 hours. For most impatient people, this was a boring inconvenience; but for Sakura this flight was hell. She did not like aeroplanes, flying or staying in the air for more than 4 hours. 'Only for the sake of seeing Europe for the first time,' she thought to herself. The female had never stepped one foot in another country, except for her home country Japan. Today would be the first time she would fly and unfortunately she was extremely frightened by it. The fear of crashing to the ground was such a brutal concept that she had avoided entering a plane. Although she was afraid of it, her plans of visiting England were stronger than her anxiety.

She sat down on her seat after she has finally found it. The window was next to her. If she would sit in the middle in the Boeing without having the option of looking outside, she would probably feel extremely unrested. After settling down, she closed her eyes to meditate little.

Despite being a businessman and having the possibility of voyaging in a first class flight, Arthur decided to change it to business class. His French business partner was the very reason for this decision. The Frenchman had provoked Arthur for days during their business trip in Japan and Arthur could not imagining himself sitting next to Francis for 12 hours. It would be pure torture. As a consequence, the Brit had to endure less personal space (which he certainly would not have if Francis would sit next to him), less privacy and a louder atmosphere. He did not really care about it, as long as he would be left alone. Arthur looked at his boarding ticket once again: Seat J38. After two weeks of staying far away from home, he was glad to return back into his habitual environment. Japan had been an extraordinaire country; it was a culture-shocking experience for the man. However, he enjoyed the trip even though Francis was annoying him with his comments. As Arthur had finally found his seat, he saw a sleeping female next to his chair. With the thoughts of nobody upsetting him with comments, coughs or other loud sounds, he considered himself a lucky man. Sleeping persons in a long-time flight were a blessing for every stressed human. He smiled to himself and sat down, after packing his hand luggage away.

Upon hearing someone settling next to her, Sakura jumped. She was in the middle of her meditation and had not realised that she had a seat neighbour. "Oh, hello, I hope I did not startle you, miss," the foreign man apologised. "N-No, you did not," she answered, feeling embarrassed by showing a jumpy reaction towards the handsome man. Yes, she found him very attractive, which unsettled her. He would witness her panic reactions. Arthur looked at the Japanese as she turned her head from him. She was blushing and grabbing the armrests with a force that her knuckles were almost white.

"Excuse me, miss, are you unwell?"

Hearing the British accent again, Sakura looked back at him; her timid and uneasy eyes gazing into his emerald ones. "Yes, I –I-"

"Dear passenger, welcome to flight BA0861."

The speakers were announcing the usual information of the flight. While some were listening and others were paying more attention to their smartphones, Sakura's mind went wild. The departure would be in a few minutes. The Brit next to her noticed her growing panic. He has often seen people who were anxious of flying, especially such a long flight as this one. Being a gentleman, he could not ignore her suffering and grabbed her left hand softly, "Do not worry miss, it will be fine. I am here." Sakura stared at him and switched her sight back to her hand which was enclosed by his. His touch was calming her a little but she did merely know this man.

"My name is Arthur Kirkland. I know we are not acquainted, but if you need anybody to talk to during this flight, you can address yourself to me," the Brit suggested. 'How did he know about my fears? Was it so obvious?' she asked herself.

"T-Thank you."

His response was a gentle smile.

The worst part for Sakura was coming soon, after fastening the seatbelts, the aeroplane moved towards the long airstrip.

"Oh kami," she murmured to herself, grabbing once again the armrests with full force. A big warm hand grabbed hers. "Just breathe," her neighbour told her softly and she obliged. Seconds later, the aeroplane was speeding up prompting her to turn her head towards the Englishman. Her eyes held fear and Arthur empathise with her. "Focus on me," he said, "Look me in the eyes. It is only you and me."

She did not notice when or how the aeroplane took off; she was hypnotised by Arthur's eyes. She had calmed down while being distracted from being taken over by her fear. Her eyes gazed into his, and she was wondering if she had ever seen such an expressive green colour. Arthur himself was caught in her gaze. Her eyes had a lovely brown shade, expressing honesty and nervousness. He knew that she was still afraid of the flight and he did not mind to distract her for hours from her anxiety. A tiny detail about their newly made acquaintance was still missing.

"Pray miss, forgive my rudeness, but I have not caught your name."

The aeroplane was still speeding towards the sky, making Sakura's voice sounding distressed, "I-it's H-Honda S-Sakura." His response was a smile. The Brit had never thought of the possibility of meeting such a lovely person on a flight back to his homeland; well he never thought of it due to a certain French who would have sabotaged this acquaintance. "A beautiful name," he muttered to himself, not realising that the flushed female had heard him.

"T-Thank you."

Arthur, seeming to have acknowledged his loud self-conversation, blushed. It matched the Japanese's face colour. The flight was completely forgotten.

"I am sorry, I did not mean t-to...-"

"It's alright."

After ten minutes, the plane was in the perfect position. Sakura looked out of the window, enjoying the view of Cities, fluffy clouds and blue sky. She definitely had expected the flight to be worse than what she was experiencing. It maybe was due to the first time of flying that she had been afraid. 'And he really was helping me. He is indeed a kind man,' she pondered, diverting her sight towards the Brit next to her. He was musing about something; with his frowning eyebrows and nervous movements of his hands. Arthur caught her glimpsing at him and stopped his fidgeting finger from showing his unsure mind. He was thinking about talking to her, but did not want to be too forward in striking a conversation with her. As if his prayer had been heard by God, a stewardess was distributing snacks and drinks. If she would arrive at their seats, he could ask Sakura, what she wanted to eat or drink. It would be a perfect start.

"I would like to have an Earl Grey Tea, please," The Brit ordered politely, turning towards Sakura. "And you?"

"Oh, I would like to have the same, as him," she told the air hostess shyly.

"So, you favour British tea?" Arthur asked; the answer to the rhetorical question was obvious, but the poor man was desperate to speak to her. "Yes, I love almost every tea," she stated, being surprised that the Brit wanted to talk to her. She thought he was a little embarrassed to sit next to someone who had been on the verge of panicking due to the take off. Sakura misjudged the Englishman's nerves. He was more embarrassed about his poor attempt to talk to her than her fear. After her share of conversation, silence took over until the stewardess gave them their tea.

It was too hot for Sakura; she put the cup on the small tray table in front of her. After some minutes, the aeroplane shook a little. Sakura cringed, closing her eyes. She had not expected such a movement.

"Do not fear. These are turbulences, which occur if an aeroplane flies through clouds or if the wind is changing."

The female calmed down, after hearing Arthur's voice and explanation. She had read about those natural conditions before entering the plane, but these shakes were still surprising for her. "Yes, but they took me by surprise," she admitted quietly, "I am sorry."

Upon hearing an apology, Arthur looked at her flabbergasted, "You do not have to apologise for a natural human reaction."

She blushed, looking at him while he quickly averted his attention to his teacup. He had reacted out of bashfulness, not estimating the natural condition outside the plane. Before he could take another sip, a new weak turbulence shook the flying vessel. During these movements, Sakura grabbed her arm rests while Arthur fought to escape any drop of hot tea, which was practically raining on his clothes; to no avail. Seconds afterwards, the turbulences ceased.

Instead of being feared, Sakura witnessed the Brit's strange body moves. It was a funny sight and she promptly giggled. Looking at his stained shirt, Arthur fumed. He heard a sweet softly laugh next to him. He would never let anybody laugh at him – having undergone this unpleasant experience with Francis several times–, he had his pride. However, seeing that the frightened expression of his neighbour had changed into a joyful smile, the Brit could not be angry with her.

Seeing, that the person of her reason to laugh was observing her, Sakura shamefully bowed her head. "I am so sorry, I did not mean to, to-"

"I-It's okay… I do not feel offended. As long as you are not stricken by fear," Arthur sighed, showing a relieved smile.

After that incident, Sakura drew in her sketchbook, while Arthur was reading and stealing glances of the Japanese and her drawings. He observed how she studied some passengers and tried to capture their expression. 'She is so adorable when she is concentrated,' he thought. Upon feeling someone staring at her, Sakura turned her attention towards her observer.

"Your drawing skills are amazing," Arthur stated, stunned by her pencil work.

"T-Thank you."

"I always wanted to obtain such skills but fate wanted me to get engaged in business," he told her, "Are there any artists that inspire you?"

"Yes, some," she answered, taking a great like in the topic they were talking about.

"Any I know? Or British artists?" He inquired, hoping for a positive reply. The Japanese smiled, knowing that he wanted to know if she liked some famous painters of his home country.

"I like John Waterhouse."

The Brit was more than glad to hear such a statement. Waterhouse was a well-known English artist; his most famous painting 'The Lady of Shalott' was exhibited in the London Tate museum. This information motivated him in his next step of strengthening his acquaintance with her.

"I could show you around in London, especially museums and exhibitions, if you like?"

Sakura was overjoyed at this suggestion. She would have asked him earlier, but did not want to burden him. "I would love to."

Arthur was happy with this outcome. He had never thought that escaping Francis insulting comments, would led to this acquaintanceship he had now ensured with Sakura. She was indeed a lovely companion.

The last hours of the flight were spent with sleep. Many passengers were resting, just like Arthur and Sakura. The Airline's stewardess wanted to be certain if anyone was in need of anything. As she continued her walking, she spotted the adorable looking pair. It was a Japanese woman whose head was lying on the man's shoulder next to her. She was sleeping peacefully while the male next to her wore a gentle smile. The air hostess grinned, having observed them since the beginning of the flight. She found the pair lovely. They were a cute match and she was glad to see that both were comfortable in each other's company. "Good night," she whispered as turned around to take care of other passengers.

* * *

[A/N: English is not my first language, so sorry if there are some mistakes :'D. I just adore that ship. And yes I am dedicating my writing-life to Asakiku ~. John Waterhouse is my favourite artists that's why I mentioned him :'D.]


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